Christmas Albums

Love Christmas music. Love many interpretations of it. But, honestly, most of it blows. The key is to reinvent the tunes, but not too much. Case in point, Sara Groves. She is my fav Christian singer/songwriter. But her new Christmas album is pretty bad. She is so concerned with making the songs sound new that it doesn't feel Christmasy...at all. She could have made an amazing album, like Shawn Colvin's.

Anyway, here are three great new albums that are worth picking up:

1. Sojourn: Advent Songs. Killer stuff; varied, interesting, advent focused. Esp. "Glory Be." iTunes, Amazon, Free.

2. Fernando Ortega: Christmas Songs. Usually can't stand his stuff. But this is a great
Christmas album. Quiet, relaxed, sounds like Christmas. Some of the instruments border on cheesy, but that doesn't take away from the record. iTunes, Amazon.

3. Andrew Peterson: Behold the Lamb of God. This isn't new, but will always be on my list. A true history of Christmas, Peter puts scripture to song like no other. My kids will grow up listening to this record. iTunes, Amazon.